Graphical user interface with on board and off-board resources

ABSTRACT

A graphical user interface is provided that can be used on a diagnostic tool. The graphical user interface allows a technician to operate various functions of the diagnostic tool including searching for additional information on the Internet, receiving weather information that is relevant to certain diagnostic tests, and displaying in certain formats the retrieved vehicle data and when certain vehicles were last scanned or diagnosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application entitled,GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE, filed Mar. 15, 2013, having a Ser. No.61/793,081, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to a graphical user interface.More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a graphical userinterface with on board and off-board databases for use with a computingdevice, such as a diagnostic tool.

BACKGROUND

In many industries, diagnostic systems play an increasingly importantrole in manufacturing processes, as well as in maintenance and repairthroughout the lifetime of the equipment or product. Some diagnosticsystems are based on personal computer technology and featureuser-friendly, menu-driven diagnostic applications. These systems assisttechnicians and professionals at all levels in performing systemdiagnostics.

With equipment and products becoming more advanced, more complex, andmore expensive with the addition of electronic components, the knowledgebase and financial resources required to properly use, maintain, and fixthese items have grown immensely. Different diagnostic systems are builtwith varying capabilities to perform various functions. For example,some diagnostic systems may include a simple code reader, while otherdiagnostic systems include complex computer architectures.

The menus on the diagnostic tools that have complex computerarchitectures tend to be burdensome and require a lot of navigation toreturn to a location so that additional functions can be performed bythe diagnostic tool. Thus, there is a need for a diagnostic hub in theform of a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides easier navigationfor the user.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a graphical user interface thatis flexible, intuitive and easy-to-use for a technician to diagnose theequipment or product, such as a vehicle.

SUMMARY

The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the presentdisclosure, wherein in one aspect of an apparatus is provided in someembodiments to include a graphical user interface with variousfunctionality including searching capabilities; visually indicating whena vehicle was last scanned; displaying “teaser” screens; displayingwhich on board and off board tools or assets are available for aparticular vehicle data; and changing icon display characteristicsincluding location on the screen.

In one embodiment, a diagnostic tool is provided and includes aprocessor that performs a function of the diagnostic tool, a display incommunication with the processor, a wireless communication interface incommunication with the processor and configured to communicate with aremote device having at least a remote diagnostic database, a vehiclecommunication protocol interface operatively coupled to the processorand configured to allow the processor to communicate with a vehicleunder test to retrieve diagnostic information including diagnostictrouble codes (DTCs), a memory in communication with the processor. Thememory containing instructions, that when executed by the processorcauses the processor to generate, on the display, a graphical userinterface (GUI). The GUI can include a message banner that includesretrieved DTC information, a first plurality of icons corresponding to aplurality of first diagnostic functions performable by the diagnostictool and corresponding to a local diagnostic database stored on thememory, and a second plurality of icons corresponding a plurality ofremote databases stored on the remote device.

In another embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable storage mediumthat includes machine-readable instructions for causing a processor of adiagnostic tool to execute the method of generating, on a display of thediagnostic tool, a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI may include amessage banner that includes retrieved DTC information, a firstplurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of first diagnosticfunctions performable by the diagnostic tool and corresponding to alocal diagnostic database stored on the memory, and a second pluralityof icons corresponding a plurality of remote databases stored on aremote device.

In still another embodiment, a computer-implemented method fordisplaying multiple diagnostic databases on a display of a diagnostictool, the method may include generating, on the display of thediagnostic tool, a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI may include amessage banner that includes retrieved DTC information, a firstplurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of first diagnosticfunctions performable by the diagnostic tool and corresponding to alocal diagnostic database stored on the memory, and a second pluralityof icons corresponding a plurality of remote databases stored on aremote device.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of thedisclosure in order that the detailed description thereof herein may bebetter understood, and in order for the present contribution to the artmay be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodimentsof the disclosure that will be described below and which will form thesubject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of thedisclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is notlimited in its application to the details of construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of embodiments inaddition to those described and of being practiced and carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for thepurpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conceptionupon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present disclosure. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a front view of a diagnostic tool according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the components of the diagnostic tool ofFIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface (GUI) accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates another exemplary GUI according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen illustrating various panels according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen having on board and off-board indicatorsaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a GUI having icons with vehicle diagnostic dataaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a GUI having various data stream icons according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a GUI having its icons rearranged according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a full screen of the data icon of FIG. 8 accordingto embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawingfigures, in which like reference numerals refer to like partsthroughout. An embodiment in accordance with the present disclosureprovides a graphical interface for use on a computing device, such as adiagnostic tool, notebook, tablet, smart phone and the like.

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of a diagnostic tool 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. An example of the diagnostic tool is theGenisys® Touch from Service Solutions U.S. LLC (Owatonna, MN). Thediagnostic tool 100 may include a housing 102, a display 104, a functionbutton or a user interface 106, a power button 108, gripping portions110 having a finger (thumb) receiving portion 112, a camera 114 andgraphical user interface 300 (discussed below). The power button 108 canalso be used to put the diagnostic tool 100 into a standby mode in orderto save battery power when not in use.

The gripping portions 110 may be made of a polymer including hydrogelsfor easy gripping. The finger receiving portion 112 may be configured toreceive a finger, such as a thumb of the user, to assist in bettergripping of the diagnostic tool 100. The function button or userinterface 106 may be configured for any function desired by the userincluding enter, back, forward, left, right, up, down, transmit,receive, return, start over, and the like. The function button can alsoinclude multiple functions of any combination of functions, such asenter and then back, etc. The user interface 106 may also include akeyboard having numbers and letters and/or be alphanumeric and the like.

The display 104 can be any type of display including a touch screendisplay, LCD, LED, VGA, OLED, SVGA, and other types of displays. Thedisplay 104 may be a colored, non-colored (e.g. gray scale), or acombination of both. The display 104 can display information such as themake, model, year of vehicle that the diagnostic tool 100 can diagnose,the various diagnostic tests the diagnostic tool can run, diagnosticdata the diagnostic tool has received, the baseline data of the variouscomponents in a vehicle, part images, parts information, and informationfrom remote servers (internet, database information, etc.).Additionally, the display can show videos for the user to view, and theaccompanying audio can be heard via the built in speakers (not shown).The speakers can be a single speaker or multiple speakers for stereosound. A microphone (not shown) may be included and allows thetechnician to record information such as the noise being made by thevehicle for later analysis or for comparison with stored data. Further,the technician can also record comments or notes during the testing forlater retrieval and analysis.

In one embodiment, the display allows the user to input selectionthrough the touch screen for interactive navigation and selection,wherein the technician can select a menu item or icons (furtherdiscussed below) by touching the selection on the graphical userinterface (GUI) 300. Additionally, the display 104, when tapped ortouched, can also be used to wake up the diagnostic tool 100 if it is ina sleep mode.

The camera 114 may be positioned to face the user so that the user mayconduct a video chat with another person at a remote location. Thecamera may also be positioned on any surface of the diagnostic tool 100including on the opposite side of display 104 so that images of parts ofan engine or any components desired by the user can be taken.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the components of the diagnostic tool 100of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In FIG. 2, thediagnostic tool 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure mayinclude a camera 114, a processor 202, a field programmable gate array(FPGA) 214, a first system bus 224, the display 104, a complexprogrammable logic device (CPLD) 206, the input device 106 or functionbutton, a memory 208, an internal non-volatile memory (NVM) 218 having adatabase 212 with software program, a card reader 220, a second systembus 222, a connector interface 211, a selectable signal translator 210,a GPS antenna 232, a GPS receiver 234, an optional altimeter 236, and awireless communication circuit 238.

The wireless communication circuit 238 can be configured to communicatewirelessly with a vehicle communication interface that is coupled to thevehicle's data link connector (both not shown) or another remote device.The vehicle communication interface sends signals and vehicle datareceived from the various electronic control units (ECUs) in thevehicle. Wireless communication circuit 238 communicates with theprocessor 202 via the second system bus 222. The wireless communicationcircuit 238 can be configured to communicate via RF (radio frequency),satellites, cellular phones (analog or digital), Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi,Infrared, ZigBee, Local Area Networks (LAN), WLAN (Wireless Local AreaNetwork), NFC (near field communication), other wireless communicationconfigurations and standards, or a combination thereof. The wirelesscommunication circuit 238 allows the diagnostic tool 100 to communicatewith other devices wirelessly such as with a remote computing device(not shown) having remote databases. The wireless communication circuit238 includes an antenna or transceiver built therein (not shown) andbeing housed within the housing 102 or can be externally located on thehousing 102.

Signal translator 210 conditions signals received from an ECU unitthrough the wireless communication circuit 238 to a conditioned signalcompatible with diagnostic tool 100. Signal translator 210 cancommunicate with, for example, the following communication protocols:J1850 (VPM and PWM), ISO 9141-2 signal, communication collisiondetection (CCD) (e.g., Chrysler collision detection), data communicationlinks (DCL), serial communication interface (SCI), Controller AreaNetwork (CAN), Keyword 2000 (ISO 14230-4), OBD II or other communicationprotocols that are implemented in a vehicle.

The circuitry to translate and send in a particular communicationprotocol can be selected by FPGA 214 (e.g., by tri-stating unusedtransceivers). Signal translator 210 may be also coupled to FPGA 214 andthe card reader 220 via the first system bus 224. FPGA 214 transmits toand receives signals (i.e., messages) from the ECU unit through signaltranslator 210 and the wireless communication circuit 238.

The FPGA 214 may be coupled to the processor 202 through variousaddress, data and control lines by the second system bus 222. FPGA 214is also coupled to the card reader 220 through the first system bus 224.The processor 202 may also be coupled to the display 104 in order tooutput the desired information to the user. The processor 202communicates with the CPLD 206 through the second system bus 222.Additionally, the processor 202 may be programmed to receive input fromthe user through the input device 106 via the CPLD 206 or via thetouchscreen display 104. The CPLD 206 may provide logic for decodingvarious inputs from the user of the diagnostic tool 100 and alsoprovides glue-logic for various other interfacing tasks.

Memory 208 and internal non-volatile memory 218 may be coupled to thesecond system bus 222, which allows for communication with the processor202 and FPGA 214. Memory 208 can include an application dependent amountof dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a hard drive, and/or read onlymemory (ROM). Software to run the diagnostic tool 100 including the GUIcan be stored in the memory 208 or 218, including any other database.The database 212 can include diagnostic information and otherinformation related to vehicles.

Internal non-volatile memory 218 can be an electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash ROM, or other similarmemory. Internal non-volatile memory 218 can provide, for example,storage for boot code, self-diagnostics, various drivers, and space forFPGA images, if desired. Additionally, the internal non-volatile memory218 may also include software such as a graphics module for renderingand displaying graphics (e.g. icons or modules) on the touchscreendisplay 104. If less than all of the modules are implemented in FPGA214, memory 218 can contain downloadable images so that FPGA 214 can bereconfigured for a different group of communication protocols.

A GPS antenna 232 and GPS receiver 234 can be included and may bemounted in or on the housing 102 or any combination thereof. The GPSantenna 232 electronically couples to the GPS receiver 234 and allowsthe GPS receiver to communicate (detects and decodes signals) withvarious satellites that orbit the Earth. In one embodiment, the GPSantenna 232 and GPS receiver 234 are one device instead of two. The GPSreceiver 234 and GPS antenna 232 may electronically couple to theprocessor 202, which may be coupled to memory 208, 218 or a memory cardin the card reader 220. The memories can be used to store cartographicdata, such as electronic maps. The diagnostic tool can include all themaps for the U.S. (or country of use), North America, or can have theregion or state where the diagnostic tool is located. In alternativeembodiments, the diagnostic tool can have all the maps of the world orany portion of the world desired by the user. This allows the diagnostictool to be a GPS device so that a driver can drive from one location toanother. The maps may be overlay or may incorporate traffic, localevents, and location of other GPS devices (smart phones), and otherinformation that can be useful to the technician. By being able tolocate other diagnostic tools with GPS, then the technicians may be ableto use the diagnostic tools to locate each other in order to conduct ameeting or have a social event.

The GPS receiver communicates with and “locks on” to a certain number ofsatellites in order to have a “fix” on its global location. Once thelocation is fixed, the GPS receiver, with the help of the processor, candetermine the exact location including longitude, latitude, altitude,velocity of movement, and other navigational data of the diagnostic tool100.

Should the GPS receiver be unable to lock onto the minimum number ofsatellites to determine the altitude or unable to determine the altitudefor any reason, the altimeter 236 can be used to determine the altitudeof the diagnostic tool 100. The altimeter 236 is electronically coupledto the processor 202 and can provide the altitude or elevation of thediagnostic tool 100. The altimeter 236 can be coupled to a barometricpressure sensor (not shown) in order to calibrate the elevationmeasurements determined by the altimeter. The sensor can be positionedinterior or exterior to the housing 102 of the diagnostic tool 100.Minor atmospheric pressure changes can affect the accuracy of thealtimeter 236, thus, diagnostic tool can correct for these changes byusing the sensor in conjunction with the altimeter 236 along with acorrection factor known in the art.

In an alternative embodiment, a vehicle communication interface 230 ofthe vehicle under test is in communication with the diagnostic tool 100through connector interface 211 via an external cable (not shown).Selectable signal translator communicates with the vehicle communicationinterface 230 through the connector interface 211.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface (GUI) 300according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The GUI 300 may includevarious icons, information banner, modules, interface elements, and thelike. The icons or modules may be activated by touching with a finger ora stylus and the like on the display 104 or through the user interface106. The display 104 can be touch sensitive and is able to interpretfinger contacts, finger tap gestures, finger swipe gestures, stylusmovements, any combination thereof, and the like. It should beunderstood that, in some embodiments, one or more of the finger inputsare replaced with input from another input device (e.g., a mouse basedinput or stylus input). For example, a swipe gesture may be replacedwith a mouse click (e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement ofthe cursor along the path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of thecontact). A further embodiment, a tap gesture may be replaced with amouse click while the cursor is located over the location of the tapgesture (e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasingto detect the contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs aresimultaneously detected, it should be understood that multiple computermice may be used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts may beused simultaneously.

GUI 300 includes information banner 302 and icons or modules 306, 310,312, 314, 316, 318, 320, and 322 (discussed below). In this example,information banner 302 provides information regarding the currentvehicle under test, such as a 2009 Volkswagen Passat or any othervehicle. The information banner 302 includes new vehicle icon 320, whichwhen selected enables a technician or user to enter informationregarding the new vehicle. The entered information may include VIN(vehicle identification number), or other identifying information. OBDIIicon 322 may be used to initiate a scan of the vehicle under test. Inalternative embodiment, the scan is conducted automatically when thediagnostic tool 100 is coupled to a data link connector in a vehicle.The data link connector (not shown) provides access to various ECUs(electronic control unit) in the vehicle.

A text field 304 may also be present on the GUI 300. In one embodiment,the text field 304 may be a search field, in which the technician canenter keywords or terms to search using a search engine such as Google™,Bing™, Yahoo™ and the like. The search term or keywords may be enteredinto the text field 304 using the keypad 106 or a virtual keypad 106that may appear when the text field 304 is touched with a finger orstylus. By having the text field 304, the technician can search forfixes, terms, bulletins, parts include location and pricing of theparts, or any other information in order to complete the diagnosis. Thetext field 304 may also be used to search any other information or topicsuch as baseball scores, news, weather, and the like. Once the searchterm or keyword is entered, the technician may touch the search icon 305to start the search. In another embodiment, before or after thetechnician types in the text field 304, he can change the default searchengine by tapping or touching search icon 305, which can cycle throughor display the various search engines for selection.

Other icons or modules that may be display on the GUI 300 may includethe diagnostic icon 306, maintenance test icon 310, scope icon 312, roadtest icon 314, symptom assist icon 316, and services and setting icon318. There may be as many icons as the user desires. The diagnostic icon306 when pressed or touched may bring up various diagnostic tests, suchas sensor tests, emissions tests, or throttle position tests and thelike. The maintenance test icon 310 when touched may perform maintenancetests such as inspection and maintenance and may retrieve I/M relatedemissions DTCs or monitors. Scope icon 312 when pressed may gather datafrom the scope such as an oscilloscope (automotive scope 3840F fromService Solutions U.S. LLC) attached to a portion of the vehicle undertest.

Road test icon 314, when tapped, may put the diagnostic tool 100 intoroad test mode in order to gather vehicle diagnostic data during a roadtest. The road test allows a technician to gather vehicle data that mayoccur only during a road test such as intermittent stuttering of thevehicle at 30 mph. System assist icon 316 allows the technician toaccess on board or off-board diagnostic databases (discussed below) inorder to assist the technician to diagnose an issue with the vehicle.Services and settings icon 318 allows the technician to change thesettings in the diagnostic tool. The settings may include certainpreferences such as units of measurements in metrics or U.S. units(discussed below).

Each of the icons discussed herein may have an indicator 308 thatindicates that additional information is available related to thefunctionality of that particular icon or that a certain number ofupdates are available. For example, the indicator 308 for the systemassist icon 316 shows 108 different available information that availableat various databases to help to identify symptoms found in the vehicle.The available information may include top fixes, bulletins, videos,number of responses from a chat room or messages that have not beenviewed, and the like that may be related to the vehicle data retrievedin order to help the technician to diagnose the symptoms.

A message banner 330 may also be present on the GUI 300. The messagebanner 330 may include information such as the date and the weatherconditions at the location of the diagnostic tool 100. The messagebanner 330 may contain or display information desired by the user,including alerts, news feeds, weather at a different location or anyother customizable information. The location may be based on the GPSlocation of the vehicle or diagnostic tool 100. It may also be based onlocation of the Wi-Fi connection or cellular connection to which thediagnostic tool 100 is connected to.

By knowing the weather condition, the diagnostic tool 100 can assist thetechnician in performing certain tests or alert the technician that theweather conditions are not optimal or may interfere with certain tests.For example, the weather may be too cold or too hot to run a vehiclebattery test. The temperature may be measured optionally by atemperature sensor located on a surface of the diagnostic tool 100 ormaybe received from an Internet-based source, such as www.weather.comand the like. Additional weather-related information may includebarometric pressure and humidity levels, all of which may affect thetesting be conducted by the technician.

FIG. 4 illustrates another exemplary GUI 400 according to an embodimentof the disclosure. Icons or modules 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, 414,416, 418, 420, 422, 424, 426, and 428 are shown on GUI 400. New vehicleicon 402 when pressed allows the technician enter new vehicle.Alternatively, pressing of the new vehicle icon 402 may allow vehicleinformation to be transferred from another diagnostic tool to thisdiagnostic tool 100. AutoID icon 404 when pressed will instruct thediagnostic tool to perform the AutoID function and retrieve certaininformation such as VIN number from an ECU in a vehicle. Additionaldisclosure regarding AutoID can be found in an application entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED VEHICLE SELECTION AND AUTOMATED FIXDETECTION,” having U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/606,850, filed onSep. 7, 2012, the disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

Heavy duty icon 406 when pressed may bring up different icons in orderto diagnose heavy duty vehicles such as an 18 wheeler. VIN icon 408 whenpressed may bring up a virtual keyboard 106 in order for a technician toenter vehicle identification number (VIN) and search for thecorresponding vehicle that matches the VIN. Cancel icon 410 when pressedwill cancel a function that was previously requested by user.

Vehicle icons or modules 412, 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424, 426, and 428are icons or modules related to vehicles that are under test orpreviously tested. These icons may be arranged in the order of when thevehicle was last scanned or diagnosed. For example, vehicle icon 412located in the top left-hand corner may be an icon of the vehiclecurrently being scanned or diagnosed by the technician. This may beindicated by a text on the icon such as “currently selected,” or similartext. Vehicle icon 414 also shows a vehicle (Cadillac) that was scannedor diagnosed “2 hours ago.”

Additionally, in one embodiment, vehicle icon 416 shows a vehicle (Mini)that was scanned or diagnosed “4 hours ago.” It should be noted thatthese icons 412, 414 and 416 are shown “brightly lit,” and icon 412 isthe “brightest” compared to vehicle icons 418, 420, 422, and 424 whichshow that the respective vehicles were last scanned or diagnosed“yesterday,” and thus, appear to decrease in brightness or starting tofade out. As more time since the last scan or diagnosis for respectivevehicles passes, the vehicle icons fade even further. For example,vehicle icons 426 and 428 show the date on which the respective vehicleswere last scanned or diagnosed and thus is further decreased inbrightness or more faded out than the vehicle icons 418, 420, 422, and424. The amount time that passes in which a vehicle was last scanned ordiagnosed will determine the amount of decrease in brightness, oralternatively increase in brightness, for the respective vehicle icon.The amount time may be set as desired by the technician and may be interms of minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, decades, and the like.Additionally, although in one embodiment, the far left vehicle icon maybe the most bright, the placement of the brightest vehicle icon may beto the right. This allows technicians in other countries (such as Japan)or culture or personal preferences that may read from right to left toplace the brightest icon in the far right-hand corner of the GUI 400.This may be done by using the services and settings icon 318 (FIG. 3).

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen 500 illustrating various panels 502, 504,506 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In this embodiment,screen 500 illustrates a main panel 502 along with certain icons ormodules that relate to a certain function or parameter such as systeminformation. Right side panel 504 is shown as a “teaser” screen, whichgives the technician a sneak peak of what icons or modules may becontained on the right side panel 504, such as parts information. Forexample, the icons or information may relate to parts such asschematics, videos, pictures, or the ability to purchase the parts basedon a diagnosis that may be of interest to the technician. In the eventthe technician would like to see the icons or information contained onright side panel 504, he can simply swipe to the left using his fingeror fingers and the right side panel 504 will replace the main panel 502as the main panel. Any amount of the right side panel 504 may appear onscreen 500 as desired by the user. Additionally, an identifier can bevisible on the right side panel that is shown on screen 500 so that theuser knows or can guess what icons or information may be contained onthe right side panel 504.

In another embodiment, a left side panel 506 may also be present inconjunction with the right side panel 504. Alternatively, only the leftside panel 506 or the right side panel 504 in conjunction with mainpanel 502 are displayed on screen 500. Similar to the functionality ofthe right side panel 504, the left side panel 506 may also be a “teaser”screen that allows the technician to know or guess what icons orinformation may be contained on the left side panel 506. An identifiercan be located on the right side or the upper right side of the leftside panel 506 so that the technician knows what icons are on the leftside panel 506.

Alternatively, the left and right side panels 504, 506 may also bepositioned above or below main panel 502. By having these “teaser”screens or panels, they may replace the vertical menus selection thatare typically used in menus and make them horizontal for faster viewing.Thus, left and right side panels 504, 506 may also be a continuation ofadditional icons under the same information category such as additionalicons for diagnosing a vehicle that could not be displayed on one panel.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen 600 having on board and off-board indicatorsaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure. Message banner 606 mayshow information about the vehicle that is currently under test. In thescreen 600, the diagnostic tool 100 has retrieved a DTC, such as P0010as shown on message banner 602. A description box 604 may “pop out” whenan icon 608 such as the description icon is pressed by the technician.Description box 604 can provide additional information about the P0100DTC that is set in the vehicle. Additionally, icons 608 on the left sideof the screen 600 indicate to the user that certain on board tools ordatabases are available that relates to that particular DTC or issuethat the technician is trying to diagnose. One such database can be the“code assist” that may exist in database 212 (FIG. 2). On the right sideof the screen 600, icons 610 indicate to the user that certain off-boarddatabases such as iATN™, Google™, Direct-Hit™ and Symptom-Assist™ areavailable that relates to that particular DTC or issue. By displaying onscreen 600 both on board tools in the form of icons 608 and off-boardtools in the form of icons 610, the technician can select the properdatabase or by preference. The proper database may be based on the timein which it takes to retrieve the additional information to diagnose thecomponent that caused the DTC to be set in the ECU. For example, it maybe faster to retrieve the additional information from an onboard toolversus and off-board tool, which may require the technician to have awired or wireless connection to request the information from a remoteserver or computing device on which the off-board database is stored.Thus in this embodiment, if one or both of the tools are available, thetechnician can decide which tool to use is best for him. Additionally,the technician may prefer to use the off-board tools as they may beupdated more often than the on-board tools.

FIG. 7 illustrates a GUI 700 having icons with vehicle diagnostic dataaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure. GUI 700 includes a messagebanner 702 showing data stream engine. Icons or modules 704, 706, 708,712 and 716 can be vehicle data icons showing various retrieved vehicledata. For example, icon 704 shows vehicle diagnostic data regardingvehicle speed, icon 706 shows intake air temperature, icon 708 showsfuel tank pressure, icon 712 shows manifold absolute pressure, and icon716 shows throttle position.

The vehicle diagnostic data icons may show the data in various formsincluding numerical 714, percentage 720, graph 710, and the like. Theforms may be changed by the technician by tapping on the respective iconor a portion of the icon containing the numerical 714, percentage 720,or graph 710 in order to change from one form to another. Additionally,the forms and icons may also be changed as to color, size, shading, andthe like depending on the preferences of the technician. The numericalunit 714 shown on the forms for example may be changed from metrics toU.S. units and vice versa by also tapping the respective icon or portionof the icon. Further, the title of the respective icons may change incolor to indicate whether the data value is within, over or under apredetermined range for the particular data value being recorded. Thecolor may be blue for within the predetermined range, red for being overthe predetermined range, and yellow for under the predetermined range.However, any color can be used to signify the data value in relation tothe predetermined range as desired by the technician.

In another embodiment, all the icons or individual icon can beprogrammed or customized to show only metrics or U.S. units or both. Theicons can also be programmed to show metrics based on the manufacturerof the vehicle under test, such as BMW, or U.S. units for US manufacturesuch as Ford. Further the icons can also be programmed to show metricsor U.S. units depending on the location of the diagnostic tool 100,based on user preference as part of a login ID or the language selectedfor the diagnostic tool.

Also shown on FIG. 7, is a hand 718 representing a hand or a finger ofthe technician moving icon 716. The GUI 700 may change depending on thepreference of the user. That is, the respective icons or modules 704,706, 708, 712, and 716 may be moved to other portions of the GUI 700.Movement of the icon may be done with finger, stylus, user interface106, or the like. The GUI 700 is configured to move the other respectiveicons in relation to the icon (in this case 716) in order to place theicon at a location on GUI 700 as desired by the technician.

Further, the icon may be placed at an angle as shown in FIG. 7. Becauseicon 716 appears at an angle different from the remaining icons this mayquickly attract the eyes of the technician in order to quickly view theicon that he's really interested in. This may be helpful when the datachanges rapidly and the technician wants to be sure to focus on thaticon.

FIG. 8 illustrates GUI 800 having various data stream icons according toan embodiment of the disclosure. GUI 800 includes a message banner 802showing a data stream that is being recorded by the diagnostic tool 100.The data icons shown in GUI 800 include data icon 804 for A/C clutch,data icon 806 for throttle position, data icon 808 for fuel tankpressure, data icon 810 for manifold absolute pressure, and data icon812 for idle air control position. As previously discussed, these iconsmay include numerical, graphical, percentage and the like to show thedata being retrieved.

In one embodiment, in the event that the user would like to zoom in tosee a larger display of information about the data on a particular icon,he may simply use one or 2 finger gestures to make the portion of theGUI or icon bigger. Alternatively, the user can also make a particularicon smaller by using one or 2 finger gestures.

FIG. 9 illustrates GUI 800 having its icon rearranged according to anembodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, GUI 800 has now beenchanged based on a gesture via finger(s) and/or stylus, and the like sothat data icon 808 is now larger or is zoomed in in relation to theother icons on GUI 800. The remaining data icons 804, 806, 810, 812 havebeen rearranged or repositioned to accommodate the now larger data icon808. The remaining data icons 804, 806, 810, 812 may be repositioned tofill the remaining portion of the GUI 800 as shown in FIG. 9 or can berepositioned to fill only a portion of the GUI 800.

FIG. 10 illustrates a full screen of the data icon 808 of FIG. 8according to embodiment of the disclosure. In the event that the userwould like to view the data icon, such as data icon 808 in a full viewmode, the user may use a gesture via finger(s) and/or stylus and thelike to make the data icon 808 as large or small as he likes. In fullview mode, the entire GUI 800 shows only the icon 808 and its data oronly the data/graph part.

The many features and advantages of the disclosure are apparent from thedetailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claimsto cover all such features and advantages of the disclosure which fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further, sincenumerous modifications and variations will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to theexact construction and operation illustrated and described, andaccordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A diagnostic tool, comprising: a processor that performs a function of the diagnostic tool; a display in communication with the processor; a wireless communication interface in communication with the processor and configured to communicate with a remote device having at least a remote diagnostic database; a vehicle communication protocol interface operatively coupled to the processor and configured to allow the processor to communicate with a vehicle under test to retrieve diagnostic information including diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs); a memory in communication with the processor, the memory containing instructions, that when executed by the processor causes the processor to: generate, on the display, a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising: a message banner that includes retrieved diagnostic trouble code (DTC) information; a first plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of first diagnostic functions performable by the diagnostic tool and corresponding to a local diagnostic database stored on the memory; and a second plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of remote databases stored on the remote device and indicates which of the plurality of remote databases that relates to that DTC information is available.
 2. The diagnostic tool of claim 1, wherein the local diagnostic database contains diagnostic information to diagnose the retrieved DTC.
 3. The diagnostic tool of claim 2, wherein the diagnostic information is retrieved faster from the local diagnostic database than the remote diagnostic database.
 4. The diagnostic tool of claim 1, wherein the remote diagnostic database contains diagnostic information to diagnose the retrieved DTC.
 5. The diagnostic tool of claim 1, wherein the message banner further includes information about the vehicle under test.
 6. The diagnostic tool of claim 1 further comprising: a description box that includes a description about the retrieved DTC.
 7. The diagnostic tool of claim 6, wherein description appears when a user selects one of the first plurality of icons.
 8. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions for causing a processor of a diagnostic tool to execute the method of: generating with the processor, on a display of the diagnostic tool, a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a message banner that includes retrieved diagnostic trouble code (DTC) information; generating with the processor, on the display of the diagnostic tool, the GUI that includes a first plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of first diagnostic functions performable by the diagnostic tool and corresponding to a local diagnostic database stored on the memory; generating with the processor, on the display of the diagnostic tool, the GUI that includes a second plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of databases stored on a remote device; and indicating with the second plurality of icons, which of the plurality of databases that relates to that DTC information is available.
 9. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the local diagnostic database contains diagnostic information to diagnose the retrieved DTC.
 10. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the diagnostic information is retrieved faster from the local diagnostic database than the remote diagnostic database.
 11. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the remote diagnostic database contains diagnostic information to diagnose the retrieved DTC.
 12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the message banner further includes information about the vehicle under test.
 13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 8 further comprising: a description box that includes a description about the retrieved DTC.
 14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the description appears when a user selects one of the first plurality of icons.
 15. A computer-implemented method for displaying multiple diagnostic databases on a display of a diagnostic tool, the method comprising: generating with the processor, on the display of the diagnostic tool, a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a message banner that includes retrieved diagnostic trouble code (DTC) information; generating with the processor, on t h e display of the diagnostic tool, the GUI that includes a first plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of first diagnostic functions performable by the diagnostic tool and corresponding to a local diagnostic database stored on the memory; generating with the processor, on t h e display of the diagnostic tool, the GUI that includes a second plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of remote databases stored on a remote; and indicating with the second plurality of icons, which of the plurality of databases that relates to that DTC information is available.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the local diagnostic database contains diagnostic information to diagnose the retrieved DTC.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the diagnostic information is retrieved faster from the local diagnostic database than the remote diagnostic database.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the remote diagnostic database contains diagnostic information to diagnose the retrieved DTC.
 19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the message banner further includes information about the vehicle under test.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 further comprising: a description box that includes a description about the retrieved DTC. 